By Rory Hale – REALTOR®, CIR Realty, Rural Properties & Acreages near Calgary
As the summer draws to a close, there are a lot of chores to be done on a rural property, from prepping your septic, ensuring your tractor is ready to move snow, harvesting your garden or crops, and of course, making sure you have enough firewood.
In the Alberta foothills, harvesting firewood isn’t just a chore — it’s a way of life. Every fall, our chainsaws are busy, Sure, we gather firewood all summer from deadfall trees blocking trails or standing dead that is too close to a building, but at the end of summer, you get serious. Rural life means acreage owners take advantage of what nature has to offer. One amazing thing is having wood heat. We do a lot of heavy lifting, in the fall, felling standing dead trees, limbing them, bucking them, hauling them back to the home site.
Then we get busy.
Then we get busy.
Splitting wood with an axe or maul isn’t easy, but there’s a reason for it: split wood dries faster, burns hotter, and stacks more neatly. Plus, as the old joke goes, splitting wood keeps you warm twice — once while you’re swinging the axe, and again when you’re sitting by the fire.
Most people think I’m crazy, but I love splitting wood by hand. “Why don’t you buy a hydraulic splitter? It’s the best purchase you’ll ever make.” I have been asked. Maybe someday, but I love splitting wood; it’s great exercise, and there is something that feels wonderful when your axe falls and you hear that crack. It’s good for my soul.
What Wood Works Best?
Not all firewood is created equal. Out here, you’ll find plenty of options:
Standing Deadwood – Nature’s gift. Already dry, it seasons faster and burns clean.
Poplar Aspen – Abundant, but burns fast. produces lots of ash, Great for shoulder season fires.
Pine & Spruce – Common and easy to gather, but burn hot and quick. Good for starting fires.
Fir – A favourite. Dense, long-burning, and throws steady heat all night.
We always try and have a mix. Unfortunately, we don’t have fir or hardwood on our property, so we use different sizes of logs to help regulate temperature. Bigger logs burn slower. Of course, save your Pine for really cold days, it burns fast, but that sap is like jet fuel, it burns hot.
The Art of Seasoning
Fresh-cut wood is full of moisture, and if you toss it straight into your stove, it’ll smoke more than it burns. That’s why seasoning matters. Split your logs, stack them off the ground, and cover the top — leaving the sides open so the wind can dry them. Depending on the species, wood takes anywhere from 6 months to 2 years to fully season.
And how much do you need for a foothills winter? The answer I always give, you can never have too much firewood. That being said, a rule of thumb for cold climates like the Alberta foothills is to budget 3 cords of wood per 1,000 square feet if wood is your primary heat source. For my home, this means I would need 4 to 5 cords to get through the winter comfortably. I’ll stack 6.
Heat Then and Now
Our early settler ancestors knew this lesson well. They relied on open fireplaces — smoky, drafty, and hard to keep going. Today, we’re spoiled with airtight wood stoves that throw steady, efficient heat, often warming an entire home. Yet, every time we load a stove, we’re sharing a small piece of the same tradition that kept Alberta’s pioneers alive.
The Little Things that Matter
Keeping your firewood stack neat isn’t just about pride — it helps prevent rot, mold, and even critters moving in. And when the wood finally turns to ash, don’t throw it out. Ash is a gardener’s friend, rich in calcium and potassium, perfect for enriching soil and balancing acidity.
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The Joy of a Fire at Home
Beyond the sweat and sawdust, there’s nothing quite like sitting by your own fire on a cold Alberta night. The crackle, the glow, the heat seeping into your bones — it’s comfort you’ve earned. There’s a satisfaction in knowing you harvested, split, stacked, and seasoned the very fuel that warms your family.
It’s more than heat. It’s security. It’s tradition. It’s rural life at its finest.
Rural Life Awaits You
Harvesting firewood is just one of the many joys of living in the rural Alberta foothills. It’s hard work, yes — but it’s also deeply rewarding, a connection to the land and a reminder of a simpler rhythm of life.
If you’ve ever dreamed of having your own wood stove, your own stack of seasoned firewood, and your own acreage in the foothills — I can help you find it. Contact me today to start your journey to rural living.
